Violent crime rates dip in Stamford

Jeff Morganteen, Staff Writer

Published
10:22 pm EDT, Tuesday, September 14, 2010

STAMFORD -- Despite a strained police department budget and dwindling roster of officers, violent crime rates fell in Stamford last year along with a national 5.3-percent decline in reported crimes, the FBI said in its annual report.

Property crimes increased in Stamford in 2009, but only by a small amount. Nationally, the FBI reported a decrease in violent crime for the third year in a row.

Property crime -- thefts of money or possessions -- declined by 4.6 percent across the country compared to 2008 numbers, according to data from its Crime in the United States report, an annual compilation of nationwide crime statistics.

The only significant increase in Stamford's crime rates came in burglaries, which rose by nearly 14 percent.

Last year, the city saw 353 violent crimes, among them two murders. Compared to 2008, the violent crime rate dropped by 9 percent. In 2008, the city witnessed 390 violent crimes and five murders.

Of the two murders last year, the first occurred in January, when 79-year-old Hebert Davison died from a head injury suffered during a fight with Greenwich chiropractor William Lindemann, who is accused of punching Davison.

Lindemann was arrested in Florida days before Davison died from his injuries. He was charged with first-degree assault and later with first-degree manslaughter. His case is awaiting a trial date.

In November of 2009, a 22-year-old Belltown man, Denny "Pun" Alcantara was shot and killed while walking to his friend's house to watch the World Series. No arrests have been made in the fatal shooting.

Compared to the four other Connecticut cities with more than 100,000 residents -- Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury -- Stamford reported the lowest numbers of murders and violent crimes in 2009.

The police department meets with recently released prisoners as they acclimate themselves back into the community, Fontneau said. But it also gives officers notice that a convicted criminal has returned to the city.

Fontneau, who was promoted from a narcotics lieutenant to assistant chief this past winter under new Chief Robert Nivakoff, said the department recognized the uptick in burglaries and added a sergeant to the property crimes unit this April.

"We are aware of those statistics and we are redirecting our efforts into the burglary unit," Fontneau said. "We found that the investigators were becoming overloaded."

Fontneau added that several drug busts locked up narcotics traffickers whose trade may have led to violent incidents or other crimes.

In other crime categories, Stamford saw 31 forcible rapes last year, a statistic that is traditionally underreported. The city saw 151 robberies, about 21 less incidents than the year before.

Property crime statistics -- which includes burglaries and larcenies -- stayed nearly constant at 2,143 reported incidents, only 12 more than were reported in 2008. The city did see 43 less car thefts, which declined from 216 to 173 in 2009.

Staff writer Jeff Morganteen can be reached at jeff.morganteen@scni.com or 203-964-2215.